News

Mr. Speaker, every day, seniors across the NWT make important contributions to their families, their friends and their communities.
We don’t always give them the credit they deserve, but recognizing June as Seniors’ Month in the Northwest Territories and June 15th as World Elder Abuse Awareness Day is one way to show our appreciation to NWT seniors.
Today, we are wearing purple boutonnieres to raise awareness about elder abuse and its many forms – financial, emotional and physical. I would like to welcome and recognize members of the NWT Seniors’ Society and the Yellowknife Seniors’ Society present in the gallery today.

YELLOWKNIFE (June 2, 2014) – Winners of the Get Reel contest were announced on the Department of Health and Social Services website for World No Tobacco Day, May 31, 2014.

Get Reel is a contest where students in Grades 5 to 12 in all three Northern territories make their own short anti-tobacco ads. This is the second year Get Reel has run as part of the Smoke Screening program. There were 72 ads created, 15 from NWT schools.

Mr. Speaker, June 1st is National Cancer Survivors Day. This day is an annual celebration of life and loved ones. Each year, it reminds us of the importance of speaking openly about cancer, and supporting one another in the face of such a serious disease.

Mr. Speaker, on March 4, 2014, this Assembly received a report on Child and Family Services from the Auditor General of Canada. The report confirmed what we already knew – that we need to do a better job of supporting children and families. It highlighted areas where our system has seriously failed. It told how some children are falling through the cracks, and how some Health and Social Services Authorities have not routinely followed up on the well-being of children placed into care. These situations are unacceptable.

YELLOWKNIFE (May 16, 2014) – The Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) has issued a Request for Qualifications requesting submissions from proponents to support the Stanton Territorial Hospital Renewal Initiative. Proponents that best meet the required qualifications will be shortlisted and then asked to submit detailed proposals.

YELLOWKNIFE (May 6, 2014) – Minister of Health and Social Services Glen Abernethy today launched Mind & Spirit, a wellness magazine to raise awareness of mental health. The magazine will help inspire people to talk about mental health as it shares success stories of individuals dealing with and overcoming mental health and addiction issues. It also provides information on the services that are available to residents seeking help.

YELLOWKNIFE (March 17, 2014) – Northwest Territories residents can expect to see significant improvements to territorial cancer care services in the next three years. The Department of Health and Social Services has signed funding agreements with the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer to implement two projects focused on improving the experiences of First Nations, Inuit and Métis cancer patients in the NWT.

Mr. Speaker, we are making the final preparations for our new Med-Response clinical support line for community health workers. This innovative project is a priority in the Department of Health and Social Services strategic plan and advances the 17th Legislative Assembly’s goal of ensuring a fair and sustainable health care system. It uses technology to connect people with services and it will be an important part of our effective, efficient health system.
The new Med-Response service will provide community health care workers throughout all Northwest Territories regions with a single phone number to call for emergency clinical support.
We have not had a system-wide approach to dealing with em

Mr. Speaker, cancer rates have increased slightly over the last few years. Even one case affects dozens of people. Cancer Sharing Circles have been held in Fort Good Hope, Fort Resolution and Fort Liard to share information, facilitate dialogue and inform the development of local action plans to address this important issue. The Cancer Sharing Circles showed us that we need to do more work on the services available for cancer patients and their families. Our smoking and drinking rates remain too high, and further improvements are needed with regard to healthy eating.

We have a number of initiatives that prevent cancer, including nutrition programs and anti-tobacco campaigns targeting schools across the NWT. We have made a lot of progress in our fight against cancer. We are able to better treat it and through early screening and detection, more and more people are surviving this disease.